Conflict resolution class discusses gun violence in lieu of the Florida shooting

By Lena Zhu | Published by April 13, 2018

The mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida hit home for  Kean graduate student Susan Landsman, who is the mother of an eighth-grader.  

Landsman said her daughter has constant shooter drills in her school that involves knowing how to defend herself with a shooter.  

In these active shooter drills, everyone hides in the little corner away from the doors and windows and sit there until the loudspeaker announces the drill is over.  

“One office person hid under her desk for 20 minutes,” Landsman said, not hearing the announcement from the loudspeaker. She stayed under the desk pondering whether the drill might be over. However, she did not want to risk her chances and did not know when to get out  

Landsman’s daughter also had to go through these active shooter drills.  

“My daughter said ‘there’s a courtyard [near the school],” Landsman said, quoting her daughter. “‘I have to know which one to jump out of or else I’m trapping myself.’” 

Her comments were part of a lively class discussion on gun violence in the media in Dr.Christopher Lynch’s COMM 3525 Communication & Conflict Resolution course. Dr. Lynch started the class by asking the students if they were concerned as students of a public institution on gun control.  

The discussion promoted deep thoughts and brought forth some personal stories on gun violence and its portrayal in the media.  

During the March 22 class, Racquel Ford, better known to her friends as Rocky, contributed by saying that there was another shooting across the street from Princeton near a Panera. As a worker for Panera Bread, she was shocked, yet underwhelmed.  

“It’s becoming normalized. When I saw it [on my phone], I was thinking, seriously? This is happening, again?” she commented. 

In 2016, the NRA spent more than 30 million dollars to support Trump during his presidential campaign, according to LATimes.  

When Dr. Lynch reminded the class that President Trump wants to train teachers to hold and fire guns. Vincent Legaspi responded without hesitation.  

“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous,” he said. “Even in certain examples, training might not even help. There was a cop in Florida who was trained and didn’t do anything. He just stayed outside even though he heard those shots.”  

Legaspi then related the Florida shooting with American Sniper, starring Bradley Cooper. 

In American Sniper, Bradley Cooper plays Chris Kyle, one of the deadliest snipers in U.S Military history. In the movie, Kyle works with veterans in a shooting range after being honorably discharged. He works with veterans to help them cope with their PTSD. He was eventually fatally shot by Marine Corps veteran Eddie Ray Routh, who was 25 at the time.  

Then, Legaspi posed a question.  

“What makes a teacher who will get, let’s say, three months of training, be qualified to fire a gun? What makes you think they are able to handle a situation like that?” asked Legaspi. 

One of the most obvious counteractions to the solution of gun laws and stricter gun violence are the Second Amendment rights — the right to bear arms. 

“The country has evolved so much,” Ford says.  “I don’t know who’s to say we should be doing revisions on [the Constitution]. It’s may be up to…”  

“Us,” Dr. Lynch offers. “How about it is up to us?”  

The class murmured and acknowledged the possibility. 

Dr. Lynch spoke of a recent legislation in the past month that has not been passed as of yet has stated that “if you come from a state where you can carry a gun, you can go into any state or a city like NYC that does have a decrease in gun violence,” the gun owner is allowed to carry a gun into the traveling state if they are able to carry a gun from the state in which the gun was retrieved (example: Florida).  

“Should that be?” questioned Dr. Lynch.  

Murmurs and quiet whispers asked important questions in an effort to try to answer the question posed. Some wondered why the second amendment was still in place and so strongly supported since it was referring to militias back in the day. 

Orella Chichester offered a different solution.  

“America should look at other countries,” Chichester said. “Japan, for example, has gun laws. People are allowed to own guns, but the process of owning a gun is so rigorous. I think that America should look to other countries which have stricter gun laws and try to learn something from that.” 

According to BBC.com, in Japan, if one wants to own a gun, one would have to attend an all-day class, take a written exam and pass a shooting-range test with a mark of at least 95%. There are also mental health and drugs tests. One’s criminal record is checked and police look for links to extremist groups. Then the police check relatives and work colleagues. And as well as having the power to deny gun licences, police also have sweeping powers to search and seize weapons.  

Another solution may be the gun buyback, which occurred in Australia last year according to NPR.org.  

The three-month amnesty collected almost 700,000 guns in Australia, according to the Library of Congress Report on the Australian gun policy.  

Ford, hearing this, chimed in and said, “I think that would work. America is so money hungry.” 

Another controversial issue was brought up when Ben Carson, the 17th and current United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under the Trump Administration, stated that if we had given Germany guns we would not have had the Holocaust.  

Scoffs and angry murmurs could be heard throughout the entire classroom.  

“How are you going to fight the government? A lot of people are saying that they are going to keep their guns, but how is your AK-15 or AR-15 going to stop an army tank or a trained professional?” Susan Landsman asked, incredulous.  

Rida Hassan brought up the issue of NRA lobbying.  

“I feel like we can also get [to Germany’s level of mental health treatment], but the thing that is in our way is the NRA. Before we can look at whether or not someone wants to commit mass murder, we need to look at whether someone can. And right now, they can.” Hasan said.  

Chichester brought up a hypothetical situation. Looking at the politicians in Washington, they are funded by the NRA, says Chichester.  

“I’m not going to speak out against the NRA when they are putting food in my children’s mouths or if they’re allowing me to afford a mansion and 12 cars,” Chichester said. “They are not going to say anything because [the NRA] are giving these politicians massive amounts of money.”. 

Ford believed that instead of trying to create laws now that might not even work, she said to educate the younger students and people who are in jails so this does not happen as often in the future.  

So how do we raise children and future children who have to live in this grim future? How do we teach empathy? 

“We have to understand that everyone comes up different from abuse or difficulties that may make them a person who you may not like, but you have to understand that’s how it works in the real world.”  

Landsman also said to talk to one’s own children (or future children) about what happens on the news and the emotions that may arise with the event itself and how the children might feel if they were in that person’s position.  

“Gun control is a multifaceted issue,” Chichester said. “We, as a reprimanded society, need to be able to help people with their trauma because no one teaches them how to deal with their issues, so they project and act out their traumas on others.”  

As the class came to a close, Dr. Lynch left the students with one final thought.  

“It seems like the key thing for conflict resolution is patience. The reality is that this is not going to change overnight. What we have to do is become aware and make one step at a

time.” 

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